Knows and Teaches English as a Subject Matter
Description of Standard: This standard includes such elements as demonstrating the breadth and depth of your content knowledge, the ability to plan curriculum that demonstrates purpose and coherence, an orientation towards increasing student independent learning in the subject matter, and teaching for understanding.
Abstract: Teachers must be dedicated to their content
knowledge and the effective delivery of their lessons. Researching and
understanding the material is not enough; teachers also need to purposefully
organize that material and incorporate those lenses and themes that will appeal
most to students. The artifacts on this webpage represent aspects of my content
knowledge, my abilities as a growing English educator, and my commitment to
meaningful lessons and student learning. Together, these artifacts reveal my personal
research efforts as well as my determination to teach for understanding.
Greek Literature Unit Packet
The two unit packets on this webpage are student-friendly versions of my lengthier unit plans; students receive these packets at the beginning of each unit so they can track our progress as a class and note upcoming assignments. The Greek literature unit packet focuses on the theme of truth, and I hoped to encourage my students to critically examine their own lives. Students were given several opportunities to discuss and respond to the following questions: Why do you do what you do? What are your life obligations? What rules or principles do you use for how you treat others? What responsibility do you have to society? What truth/wisdom do you currently seek? Moreover, we returned to this concept of truth frequently and in the different contexts of research, argument, and performance. Through our lessons and activities, students researched credible sources, evaluated opinion articles, and analyzed dramatic elements.
Greek Research Assignment: "Greek Philosophy" Model Presentation
The "Greek Philosophy" model presentation video served a couple different purposes. We were going to read Plato’s The Apology later on in our unit, and so this video provided relevant background information on Socrates. Also, I used this video to scaffold students’ upcoming Greek research and presentation assignment. While planning and designing this video, I followed the same steps that my students would use: I researched the answers to my questions, located and attributed my images, created my works cited slide, and recorded my presentation using ScreenCastify. After showing this video, I discussed the assignment sheet and explained how I fulfilled the criteria through my own presentation.
Additional links: Assignment Sheet, Group Tasks, Rubric, MLA Citation Guidelines
Romanticism Unit Packet
The Romanticism unit packet is centered on the theme of passion. Students discussed and wrote about passion’s role in their own lives before we examined passion in the context of Romanticism. Students learned about the characteristics of Romantic texts, annotated and analyzed Romantic poetry, and discussed how Romantic elements and values continue to live on in contemporary media. To meet the needs of my different learners, I implemented a variety of activities, including a collage assignment and a station exercise. Near the end of the unit, students reflected on their own personal passions again, but this time in the form of performance poetry.
Flipped Classroom: "Introduction to Romanticism" Lecture Video
The "Introduction to Romanticism" lecture video not only illustrates my expanding content knowledge but also represents a flipped classroom approach to learning. I asked students to watch this video at home so we could discuss the characteristics of Romanticism in more detail on the following day. This also gave students more time to ask questions and work on their collage assignment.